How Does the Candy Crush Game App Make Money?

I still remember the first time I downloaded the Candy Crush game app. I was waiting at the airport, bored out of my mind, and a friend said, “You’ll get hooked in five minutes.” They were right. 

What started as a way to kill time soon became a daily habit, colorful candies, satisfying sound effects, and that little victory dance after completing a tough level. But something always intrigued me. How does a free mobile game like the Candy Crush game app make so much money? I never bought anything, yet it seemed to be everywhere: TV ads, celebrity tie-ins, and topping app store charts for years. That curiosity led me to dig deeper into the business behind this addictive puzzle game. What I found was a masterclass in mobile monetization.

Let’s walk through how the Candy Crush game app turns casual play into billions in revenue and what other app developers can learn from it.

A Quick Overview of the Candy Crush Game App

The Candy Crush game app was launched in 2012 by King, a UK-based game developer. It wasn’t the first match-three game, but it became the most famous. Its colorful design, simple controls, and progressively challenging levels made it incredibly addictive. becoming a benchmark often referenced by any modern game development company.

By 2024, the Candy Crush game app had been downloaded over 3 billion times. Millions of users still play daily, even after more than a decade. That kind of long-term success is rare in mobile gaming. And because it keeps users coming back, King has been able to build strong and steady income streams from the app.

The foundation of their financial success is clear: high engagement, massive user base, and smart monetization strategies.

The Core Revenue Streams of Candy Crush

So, how does the Candy Crush game app actually make money? Here are the three biggest ways:

In-App Purchases (IAP)

This is the bread and butter of the Candy Crush game app. The game is free to download and play, but as players progress, they face harder levels, longer wait times, and tempting offers.

Think about it: you’re stuck on level 400. You’re one move away from winning, and a pop-up says, “Buy 5 extra moves for $0.99.” Most people don’t think twice. It’s a small price to pay for relief and progress.

The game offers boosters, extra lives, and gold bars as in-game currency. These are all optional but cleverly positioned. According to reports, around 80% of the app’s revenue comes from IAPs. When you have millions of users making small purchases every day, the numbers add up fast.

Microtransactions, done right, can turn a fun app into a financial powerhouse.

Ad Monetization

Even if you never spend a dollar on the Candy Crush game app, you’re still helping it make money. How? Ads.

But here’s the genius: Candy Crush doesn’t shove ads in your face. Instead, it uses “rewarded ads.” You voluntarily watch a short video ad, and in return, you get something helpful like a free booster or an extra life.

This feels like a win-win. You get a reward, and King earns revenue from advertisers. With millions of people playing daily, even small ad earnings per user become significant over time.

It’s a smart way to monetize free users without annoying them.

Cross-Promotion of King’s Other Games

The Candy Crush game app is not just a money-making tool; it’s a marketing machine. King uses the app to promote its other titles like Farm Heroes Saga, Bubble Witch Saga, and Pet Rescue Saga.

Players see subtle banners or pop-ups promoting these games inside the app. This saves King a lot of money on external advertising. Instead of spending to acquire new users, they tap into their current loyal fanbase.

It’s a brilliant ecosystem; one game fuels the growth of the others.

Why Candy Crush’s Monetization Model Works So Well

The Iconic mobile game Candy Crush carefully balances a fine line between monetization and fun. Candy Crush started with a freemium model and integrated psychological engagement tactics like scarcity and reward-based loops. It lets users play for free, but generates revenue from a small percentage of players who pay for extra advantages or boosters to overcome challenging levels. Let’s discuss why and how Candy Crush’s monetization model works.

Player Psychology and Engagement Loops  

Candy Crush developers cracked the code by leveraging the simple psychology that drives satisfaction through rewards. Each level is a small challenge and, if completed, delivers a mini win. These accomplishments motivate players to engage for hours.

Time-sensitive events and FOMO 

Candy Crush offers exclusive and time-limited events and offers to engage players more frequently. These events are often seasonal, daily, or special to drive engagement and generate revenue. 

“Near Miss” Effect

Players in Candy Crush are constantly engaged in a fun competition. Players often get close to completing a level, but fall just short. This strategy encourages players to spend money on boosters or moves to succeed. 

Social Features and Motivation  

Candy Crush motivates its players to turn a single gaming experience into a social competition. It allows users to be part of social layers, such as leaderboards, sending and receiving lives, and sharing achievements. This is highly effective and encourages them to make in-app purchases.

Monetization in Gameplay 

Candy Crush integrated purchases into the gameplay loop through a freemium model. It allowed its players to earn game currency, gold bars to buy boosters, extra moves, and power-ups.  This makes purchases feel like a natural part of the game rather than an interruption.

Strategic Game Level 

The game is carefully built to become progressively harder. With each level, the game introduced obstacles like chocolates, licorice, and multilayered blockers. This Strategy motivates players to spend money on extra moves and boosters. 

What Developers Can Learn from Candy Crush’s Success

Prioritize Engagement

It is crucial to understand that monetization will only work if players are immersed in the game. This can be achieved with addictive gameplay, an intuitive interface, and visually appealing graphics. In games like Candy Crush, small details such as animations, immersive, and smooth transitions enhance the player’s experience level.  Developers should focus on building games that encourage players to return frequently and engage for hours.

Smartly Monetize   

For players, monetization should be meaningful and create value, whether it’s a bonus, extra chance, or upgrade. Microtransactions, in-app purchases, and rewarded ads should feel natural in the game and enhance the gaming experience rather than disrupt it. The monetization should be cost-friendly to ensure the game is sustainable in the long run.

Build an Ecosystem 

Mobile games become successful when they incorporate social connectivity and community. Candy Crush fosters in-game social interactions such as social linking features, the ability to invite friends and family, and shared rewards. Developers should work on building a robust ecosystem for players to increase their user base, boost retention, and transform one-time players into long-term advocates.

Continuous Updates  

With ever-changing trends in the gaming world, developers need to maintain players’ interest regularly by releasing new levels, themes, seasons, and limited-time challenges. This strategy will keep players active and sustain excitement for the long term. Regular content updates are an opportunity to re-engage users who are losing interest.

How Cubix Builds Games Like Candy Crush

Whether you have a game concept like Candy Crush or you are exploring a completely new idea, consider hiring Cubix as one of the trusted game development companies. We ensure that your game idea evolves into a successful and scalable game like Candy Crush. Here is a complete guide on how we build games like Candy Crush.

Concept Development and Pre-Production  

• Define the Vision: In this phase, Cubix works closely with its clients to understand the core idea behind the game, the objective, the mechanics, the characters, and the storyline. We understand the expectations for the games to align our work with them.
  
• Market Research: For the success of the game, we conduct in-depth market research on the audience, competitors,  emerging trends, and platform selection to ensure a smooth development process.
  
• GDD and Technical Planning: After that, we work closely with our clients to build a Game Design Document, which serves as a blueprint from start to execution. In this document, we mention gameplay mechanics,  level design, UI/UX, story elements, characters, art direction, monetization systems, and Engine selection (Unity, Unreal, custom frameworks, and technical architecture.

Designing, Art, and Assert Creation

• Designing: Our developers create the game’s visuals and styles, which include characters, environment, and UI layout. We ensure that the styles match the target audience,
  Whether it’s casual, hyper-casual, mid-core, or AAA-quality.
  
• Concept Art Building:  Developers and designers work together to build the tone of the game world, characters, environment, and objects.  It involves concept art, visuals, scripts, and storyboards to maintain consistency throughout the game.
  
• Animations and 3D modeling:  We develop high-quality 2D or 3D models, apply textures, perform rigging, and create realistic or stylized animations depending on the game genre.
  

Development and Prototyping

• Prototyping: First, we create a beta version of your game and run tests to experiment with the game mechanics, character movements, UI flow, difficulty balance, and core loops..
  
• Full-scale Development:   After the success of the prototype, the development team begins building core game assets and elements such as player controls, level progression, AI behavior, in-game economy, power-up logic, inventory systems, and real-time features.
  
• Feature Integration: Social features, multiplayer mechanics, leaderboards, matchmaking, analytics, and monetization components (such as ads, in-app purchases, and live events) are integrated in parallel.
  

Testing, Feedback, and Iteration Rigorous QA

We have a team of game testers who perform comprehensive testing of performance, device compatibility, and functionality. We ensure that your game works across devices smoothly without interruptions.

• Feedback analysis: After launch, we collect feedback from players and the internal QA team to optimize the game. We follow a continuous feedback cycle to polish every element of the game.
  
• Bug fixing: The development and QA teams work together to eliminate bugs, optimize load times, refine animations, and fine-tune controls, ensuring a smooth, enjoyable player experience.

Post Launch Support and LiveOps

Support and maintenance

Our ongoing support includes the identification and fixing of bugs and glitches in the game. We provide continuous updates for the game, which include adapting to technical advancements, adding new levels, seasonal events, gameplay balancing, and new content releases to keep players engaged

Marketing

Before and after launch, we implement strategic marketing campaigns such as releasing teasers, social media marketing, collaborations with influencers, app store optimization (ASO), and pre-launch buzz. We assess metrics and adjust based on engagement.

Performance monitoring  

We provide an analytics dashboard to the client for tracking of KPIs such as DAU (Daily Active Users), ARPU (Average Revenue Per User), churn rate, session length, and in-game purchases.

Hire Cubix For Your Next Game Idea

If you’re a developer, marketer, or entrepreneur, there’s so much to learn from how the Candy Crush game app turned fun into fortune. From user engagement to monetization strategy, every move is intentional and effective.

And if you’re ready to build a game app like Candy Crush, that’s where Cubix comes in. We specialize in developing feature-rich, visually engaging, and highly monetizable mobile game apps. Whether it’s match-three puzzles, social integration, or scalable backend systems, you name it, we build it.

With over 17 years of experience in the industry, Cubix has established itself trusted and reputable company for businesses and startups seeking professional game developers. Whether it is Unity, Unreal Engine, AR/VR development, multiplayer architecture, or AI-powered games, Cubix should be at the top of your list. We don’t just build games, we build experiences like Candy Crush that connect, entertain, and inspire game lovers. supported by our virtual reality game development service expertise.

Let’s bring your game idea to life just like King did with the Candy Crush game app.